Vote on House NASA Bill Appears Unlikely Before September

by Amy Klamper, Space News Staff Writer | July 30, 2010 01:59pm ET

WASHINGTON ? A controversial House NASA
authorization bill that appeared headed for a floor vote today has stalled, and
it appears unlikely the measure will be taken up before lawmakers leave town
for a six-week summer break that begins Aug. 2.

House leadership aides said just before
midnight July 29 that the bill, a three-year authorization that recommends
funding the U.S. space agency at roughly $19 billion a year through 2013,
would not be taken up today, and that it is very unlikely the measure will come
to a vote before lawmakers head home to campaign in their districts.

Although the bill, H.R. 5781, would not
actually fund NASA, it would set guidelines for how much Congress can spend on
the agency?s programs. In June, House appropriators approved a $19 billion
budget for NASA next year, but fenced off most of the agency?s $4.2 billion human
space exploration budget pending enactment of an authorization bill.

The House Science and Technology Committee
approved H.R. 5781 with strong bipartisan support July 22, sending forward a
bill that authorizes only a small fraction of the $3.3 billion NASA sought to
invest in a commercial crew transportation system over the next three years.
The bill authorized $150 million through 2013 for commercial crew and another
$300 million in the form of government-backed loans or loan guarantees.

The measure also would continue much of the
work being done under NASA?s Constellation program, a 5-year-old effort to
build new rockets and spacecraft optimized for lunar missions that President
Barack Obama targeted for termination in his 2011 spending
proposal delivered to Congress in February.

With little time remaining in the fiscal year
that ends Sept. 30, House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Bart
Gordon (D-Tenn.) sought to bring the measure to the House floor under
suspension of the rules ? a move that prevents amendments to a bill and
requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. But Gordon encountered resistance
from House members hoping to weigh in on the measure during floor debate. Rep.
Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats met with Gordon early July 29
to address concerns with key elements of the legislation.

?We had a good conversation about the
difficult choices facing the agency and promised to continue to work together
to reach consensus on the bill,? Schiff said of the meeting through a
spokesperson July 29.

Schiff was one of 13 Democratic members of
the California delegation who urged Gordon?s committee to restore funding for commercial
crew and cargo initiatives and exploration technology programs requested in
NASA?s 2011 spending plan.

?These reductions will have a serious effect
on California?s workforce and economy, and that of many states,? they stated in
a July 21 letter to Gordon. ?These are areas that should be the cornerstone of
NASA?s new direction because they will drive innovation and job creation across
the nation.?

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
(SpaceX), a Hawhorne, Calif.-based company that holds a fixed-price contract to
deliver cargo to the International
Space Station and has aspirations to launch crews as well, sent an e-mail
blast July 29 asking supporters to urge lawmakers to vote no on H.R. 5781.

Further complicating the bill?s path to the
floor, the House Science and Technology Committee made some last-minute changes
to H.R. 5781.

The bill previously created federally backed
loan guarantees for companies developing commercial crewed vehicles, but the
committee dropped that provision after the Congressional Budget Office raised
questions about the long-term cost of the program. In place of the loan
guarantees, the committee added a $300 million grant program aimed at fostering
commercial crewed systems, according to a July 28 copy of the suspension bill
obtained by Space News.

In addition, the modified bill would prohibit
NASA from laying off civil servants for at least six months following the
bill?s enactment.

The International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers said in a July 29 statement that the organization
supports the House version of the NASA authorization. However, two unions that
represent NASA civil servants ? The American Federation of Government Employees
and the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers ?
issued a joint statement the same day opposing ?the far from non-controversial?
bill ?in its current form.?

During a six-hour markup of the bill July 22,
Gordon said the NASA authorization would create a balanced, sustainable manned
space exploration program that allows the agency to live within its means.

?We are in tough economic times, and we
cannot do it all,? Gordon said, adding ?some of the ?nice-to-haves? have had to
be deferred, and worthy activities have been funded at lower levels than some
of us would like.?

Off Capitol Hill, commercial space advocates
were outraged that committee leaders sought to rush the measure to a floor
vote.

?This bill is deeply flawed, and it would be
totally inappropriate for it to be pushed through with no debate,? Bretton
Alexander, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said in a July
29 e-mail.

The Planetary Society, an advocacy group
dedicated to space exploration, said in a July 29 statement that the future of
the space program is too important to rush through a controversial change in
policy.

?There has been inadequate time to review and
understand the implications of this new plan. Therefore, the Society urges the
House leadership to wait until after the August recess to bring the bill to the
House Floor, allowing a full and open debate and for amendments to improve the
bill,? the Pasadena, Calif.-based group states.